Fourth time’s the charm? Warriors look to finally overcome big, athletic Blazers
The Warriors will take on an extremely familiar foe on Tuesday evening.
If it feels as if Golden State plays Portland every few weeks, there is a reason for that. Counting the preseason, Golden State will be facing the Trail Blazers for the eighth time in the past 12 months. when the teams square off in a game with a rare 8 p.m. start time. Though they have played three times already this regular season, figuring out how to beat the Blazers is something Golden State has yet to do.
The Warriors have struggled against the Pacific Northwest’s lone team this season, going 0-3 against a franchise whose head coach, Chauncey Billups, is away from the team and facing federal charges following gambling allegations.
Led by the 6-foot-8 Deni Avdija at point guard, the Blazers have rolled out a supersized lineup that is second in the league in offensive rebounding (13.9 offensive boards per game). The Warriors, who often play three- or four-guard lineups, have been gashed by a Blazers front line that features the 7-foot-2 Donovan Clingan.
“They’ve really built their team with length and athleticism,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said after Monday’s practice. “The first game of the year, they turned us over a bunch and got out in transition.”
The Blazers, though, will look a little different Tuesday with Avdija suffering a back injury Sunday that will sideline him. Portland will have a more conventional look at point guard with 6-foot-4 veteran Jrue Holiday making his second appearance since missing 27 games with a right calf strain.
Offense has not been an issue thus far for the Warriors. Steph Curry has averaged 40.3 points per game, and dropped 48 on Portland in the last matchup. Rather, defense has been the biggest problem for Golden State in those games, with the Warriors giving up more than 120 points in each contest.
The easy culprit for the struggles has been Portland’s uncharacteristically hot 3-point shooting. Though the Blazers are 28th in accuracy (34%) from behind the arc, they have made 52 of 118 (44.1%) of their 3-pointers against the Warriors.
“Some of them are off of their defense, and them generating open 3s in transition,” Kerr said. “That’s the biggest area we need to make sure we handle tomorrow.”
The Warriors have been better at avoiding turnovers of late, committing just 28 in their previous three games before committing 15 in Sunday’s 124-111 loss to the Hawks. However, Kerr believed his team’s overall process during that loss was acceptable, noting that several of those plays were offensive fouls, not live-ball turnovers.
“We’ve been able to be a little more spaced between each guy, so the pictures are clear for everybody,” Brandin Podziemski said Monday. “It’s about being simple and trusting our teammates to make the next play, and not trying to the play all the time.”
Podziemski on Kuminga
Last week, a video clip from Draymond Green’s podcast went viral when he shared a story about Jonathan Kuminga giving advice to a frustrated Podziemski during one time, despite Kuminga being benched as his Jan. 15 trade restriction approaches. Green pointed to that as an example of Kuminga’s maturity as a teammate.
Podziemski agreed that Kuminga’s attitude has been exemplary through trying times.
“As a competitor, you always want more than what you’ve got, and I know that’s the case for everybody, they always want as much as they can handle,” Podziemski said.
“I think JK has been great on the bench, doing what he can with his opportunity and what Steve has asked of him. Right now, that’s being a leader on the bench.”